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QUEENS WEEKLY, NOV. 3, 2019
BY MARK HALLUM
City Council Speaker
Corey Johnson put Mayor
Bill de Blasio on the spot for
what has been seen as an
attempt by the administration
to hamper discussions
in regard to ending solitary
confinement in detention facilities.
The Oct. 25 letter from
Johnson references media
reports from THE CITY in
which a Board of Correction
(BOC) member claimed
there was pressure from
Mayoral staff to slow the roll
in the effort to establish new
rules for how detainees can
be housed.
“I was disheartened
that less than a week after
City Hall declared a beginning
to the end of mass incarceration,
media reports
and a statement made by a
member of the BOC during
Tuesday’s public meeting
indicate that your staff
pressured the BOC to delay
the rule-making process
to end solitary confinement
and other forms of
restrictive housing akin
to solitary confinement,”
Johnson said.
Dr. Robert Cohen, a physician
who serves on the
BOC said at a recent meeting
that the body postponed
a vote on new restrictions
to solitary confinement because
of an alleged effort by
the city to block the certification
process of the board’s
potential vote.
The vote will now take
place at an Oct. 31 meeting
of the BOC, according to
THE CITY.
A spokeswoman for the
Mayor’s office, however, argued
that the efforts by the
administration were not
necessarily overstepping
any boundaries on account
of the fact that, though the
BOC is independent, the city
would ultimately have to
carry out any new policies
voted on.
“New York City is a national
leader in reforming
punitive segregation and
humane correctional practices,”
a statement from
City Hall read. “Since 2014,
we’ve seen the most sweeping
punitive segregation reforms
of any administration
in history. We are actively
working with the board
and the department of correction
to further restrict
punitive segregation and
we expect the Board to take
action this week.”
The mayor’s office additionally
felt as though there
had not been ample time to
review the new rules, and
called for the vote to be postponed.
Johnson’s letter comes
just days after the City Council
voted on measures to approve
the building of four
borough-based jails over
the course of the next seven
years under two ULURP applications.
City Council Speaker Corey Johnson at an Oct. 17 press
conference on the vote to approve four borough-based
jails in the city. Photo: Mark Hallum/QNS
An Oct. 17 press conference,
just hours before the
vote was locked down, saw
the speaker and other city
council member who were
part of the effort draft an
outline of the jails before design
call the vote an historic
“once in a lifetime opportunity”
to close jails on Rikers.
The last time such an
effort to change the way the
detains people took place in
the 1980s during the Dinkins
administration and was ultimately
unsuccessful.
Johnson’s office sees the
number of people in Department
of Corrections lock-up
to drop as low as 3,300 citywide
once justice reform efforts
are implemented in Albany
such as the abolition of
cash bail. Detainees unable
to afford bail accounts for
a majority of those held in
Rikers for extended periods
of time.
Ending solitary confinement
is the next item on the
agenda for Johnson.
“I visited a solitary confinement
unit on Rikers
Island earlier this month
and was appalled at the conditions
there. The need to
begin public discussion cannot
be overstated,” Johnson
concluded.
Reach reporter Mark Hallum
by e-mail at mhallum@
schnepsmedia.com or by
phone at (718) 260–4564.
Chicken Soup Cook-Off
returns to Flushing
BY JENNA BAGCAL
Warm and comforting
chicken soup takes on a competitive
twist next month in
Flushing.
On Saturday, Nov. 9, from
6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Temple Beth
Sholom of Flushing will host
its fourth annual Chicken
Soup Cook-Off. Judges
Gregg Sullivan of Bayside-
LiveTV, Chefs Bret Reichler
and Adam Gandelman and
journalist Merle Exit will
determine whose chicken
soup reigns supreme.
This year, 16 vendors
from Bayside, Flushing,
Whitestone, New Hyde
Park, Great Neck, and
Freeport will compete for
the title of “best chicken
soup.” Judges will pick the
vendors who will win in
the prize categories of the
competition.
Vendors are also eligible
for the People’s Choice
Award, wherein event attendees
cast their votes for
their favorite bowl of soup.
Those interested in attending
can purchase tickets
for $18 or $6 for children
5 to 13 years old. Family
tickets are $50 and children
under 5 can enter for free. In
addition to delectable soups,
attendees can also enjoy bagels
from The Bagel Shoppe
and ice cream from Ben &
Teena’s.
Participants can also
win dozens of raffle prizes,
including gift certificates to
local restaurants and food
stores.
“Our Chicken Soup
Cook-Offs are a delectable
success,” Ways & Means
Committee Chairman Barry
Packer said. “So please
call the temple office ahead
of time to make your reservations
because we all know
from that red and white can
of soup that ‘Soup is Good
Food’.”
Temple Beth Sholom of
Flushing is located at 171-39
Northern Blvd. To RSVP,
call the temple at 718-463-
4143. For more information,
visit templebethsholom.org
or find them on Facebook.
Johnson urges de Blasio to
end solitary confi nement
Come sample chicken soups in Flushing on Nov. 9.
Photo courtesy of Inspired Taste
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